Assessment of Argyle’s and Tuckman’s Communication Theories & the Role of Effective Communication & Interpersonal Interaction in Health and Social Care

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M1: Assessment of Argyle’s and Tuckman’s Communication Theories & the Role of Effective Communication & Interpersonal Interaction in Health & Social Care Effective communication and interpersonal interaction are vital in a health and social care setting. This can ensure that a service user’s needs are met by the healthcare professionals involved. An example of this would be a paramedic bringing a patient into hospital and communicating correctly with the doctors and nurses about the patient’s condition, such as if they have a particular type of injury or if they are allergic to any medication. If important information like this is insufficiently explained to other healthcare professionals, then treatment for the patient would be inadequate and have a negative effect on the patient’s treatment and recovery. To help understand communication and interpersonal interaction, two theories will be discussed, these are: Argyle’s Communication Cycle and Tuckman’s Group Theory. Michael Argyle was a social psychologist, who argued that interpersonal communication was a skill that could be learned and developed in much the same way as learning to drive a car. Argyle underlined the importance of ‘feedback’ in skilled activities. He said that when you are driving a car, you have to change your method to match the conditions of what is happening on the road. Driving involves a constant cycle of watching what is happening, working out how to respond, making the required responses and then repeating this cycle until the end of your journey. Argyle argued that skilled interpersonal interaction (social skills) involved a cycle where you have to translate or ‘decode’ what other people are communicating and constantly adapt your own behaviour in order to communicate effectively. Verbal and non-verbal communication is not always straightforward. Communication involves
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